


THE SEVEN KINGDOMS (hiatus)

by lemonsnail, vat7k



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst, Constellations, Drowning, Family, Fluff, Found Family, Hugo needs a hug, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, More tags to be added, Puzzles, Slow Build, Slow Burn, They all need a hug, Trauma, follows the main idea of vat7k but there are au elements, giant frog monster? hell yeah!, like robot arm hugo, robo arm hugo, somewhat AU, varian needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonsnail/pseuds/lemonsnail, https://archiveofourown.org/users/vat7k/pseuds/vat7k
Summary: Varian goes on a journey to complete the seven trials his mother never finished. Along the way he meets Yong, a young boy who just wants to make an invention without it blowing up, Nuru, a kind teenager who wants to save her kingdom that is constantly ravished by disaster, and Hugo, a thief who seems to only be there to ruin things. Will Varian and his gang complete the trials or will he fail?CURRENTLY ON HIATUS ♡
Relationships: Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	1. The legend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DIDN'T PROOF READ THIS I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE PACING

Varian sighed, letting out a frustrated grunt as he tinkers with the final parts of his invention. A machine that washes clothes on it’s own would surely be helpful to someone… right? 

Before he’s given more time to ponder the thought, he hears a knock on his door. “Come in.” Quirin walked in, a gentle smile plastered on his face. “Hey dad.” Varian greeted before going back to fiddling with the machine, fixing up the loose screws.

“Son, we need to talk.” That got Varian’s attention. The raven-haired boy immediately ceased his actions and turned to face his father. “What is it dad?”

The man handed his young adult son a book that was badly tattered and withered. It was clearly a loved book that had been used time and time again. “This,” He pointed to the book, “Is your mothers work, Varian. Your mother was a very brave woman and she went on a very long journey and studied alchemy.” Varian was intrigued. He had always wondered about his mothers work and what she had done. “Your mother documented everything she had ever learned about it here. She would focus on every detail. It was her personal journal. She would… want you to have it.” He smiled at his son as he finished.

Varian looked down in awe at the journal in his hands, briefly (but carefully) skimming over the pages with the flick of his thumb. “Dad… Thank you.” He smiled, standing up and hugging his dad, his father warmly returning the embrace. 

They both pulled away and his father smiled again.”Well, I’ll leave you some privacy so you can read.” Varian nodded his head in appreciation and turned as soon as his door closed to read through the journal.

He skimmed his fingers over the rough cover of the journal for a few moments before finally opening it. He began to turn page after page just soaking in the penmanship of his mother's work. The pages may have been old and torn but his mother's writing and organization skills still shone through.

He spent minutes, maybe even hours, reading the journal until he came across something that caught his eye. “The seven trials?” He whispered out loud. The section very briefly documented her journeys attempting to complete the trials but nothing in depth. He quirked a brow. That’s it? No details about what happens or what it’s about? That can’t be right! There’s gotta be more!

Varian sighed and picked up the journal, walking around his room in thought until an idea came to mind. Why didn’t he just ask Xavier? Xavier was always in the know about quests, journeys, and old folktales. It was worth a shot, he decided and began to walk out his door. He was going to get answers.

_________ 

Varian walked through town, sun beating down on him. It wasn't even too far of a walk to Xavier's from his room in the castle. Yet, sweat ravished his body from the warm sunlight as he carried on.

Finally, spotting Xavier in the distance, he broke into a brisk walk to get to the man. "Xavier!" He shouted.

"Ah, Varian!" The man replied in a chipper tone. "Good to see you! Is there anything I can help you with?" The man bore a big grin.

Varian nodded, hastily pulling out the journal his mom had left behind. "I need to ask you about a legend, a specific one." He flips through the pages, opening to spot he bookmarked. The page had "The Seven Trails" written in proud, bold letters at the top. "This." He simply said, turning the book around to shoe Xavier.

"Ahhh, the seventh trials! I haven't talked about this one in a long while." Despite his calm tone, Varian could tell Xavier was practically bubbling over with excitement. “The seven kingdoms all have trials of their own, each teaching a lesson to those who do them. At the end of each trial you will be rewarded with a totem. Each totem is a piece of the Demanitus Device. After completing the Demanitus device it will unlock a mysterious place known as the eternal library. This library is home to all information of Demanitus’ alchemy and even the magic he used to imprison Zhan Tiri. Demanitus was a great man but he still needed help to get where he was and with the Demanitus device, he was able to do so. It allowed him to travel to other planes of existence to gather the great knowledge he had.” Xavier punctuates the end of his sentence with a grin, staring down at the younger male.

Varian stared back, eyes wide with wonder and intrigue. “My… My mom tried to complete those? Huh…” He hummed in thought. “Thanks, Xavier! You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Xavier chuckled heartily. “Of course! While you’re here, would you like to hear the legend of--”

Varian quickly cut him off with a “No!” then cleared his throat and answered again in a less frantic tone. “N-No thank you, Xavier. I’ve got some thinking to do and work, y’know? Life at the castle gets really busy.”

Xavier nodded in understanding. “Well, good luck!”

The raven-haired boy nodded and hurriedly ran back to the castle, eager to write down what he had learned from Xavier. He sat down at his usual spot, opening the journal to the back where there were a few blank pages. He hesitated for a moment. Did he really want to write in the journal his mom had spent years writing and documenting her journeys in?  
He paused, taking a moment to think before deciding to go through with it. His mom was gone, but it’d be like he and his mom had worked on something together, even if his mother was no longer with him. He quickly jotted down the information Xavier had fed him, his penmanship looking messy in comparison to his mother’s neat cursive. Next, he wrote his speculations about what the trials could possibly be, the things he’d have to do to get through them, and how he would do it if he was correct. He wrote for hours and before he knew it the sky was dark and it was late. He sighed setting aside the journal, careful to not damage it beyond what had already happened to it.

He slipped into his bed, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He dreamed of the trials and his mother.

_________ 

The next morning Varian sat up with a sudden jolt. He thought of his dreams he had… It was almost like a sign that he had to go. A sign that he should finish his mothers work. 

He quickly got out of his bed and shuffled over to where the book was sitting, skimming over it again quickly before rushing out of his room, searching for his father.

After mere moments of searching he had found him. “Dad! I-I have to do this! This seven trials thing! Mom wrote about it and-and--”

“Whoa, Whoa, son… Calm down and speak more slowly.”

“Mom. She was doing something called the seven trials, she went to each kingdom completing a trial and getting a piece of something called the Demanitus Device. Dad, with this device I could know so much more about alchemy and… and maybe even mom.” He looked to his dad desperately hoping he’d say yes.

“Varian I…” His father trailed off but then smiled. “If this is truly what you want then you’re going to need a way to travel. Come with me.”

He followed his dad back to their home, where his dad presented to him, a stable. “Come on.” His dad waves his hand in a motion that meant he wanted Varian to follow him. They walked in and his dad stopped before one of the sections. “Here.” He opened the door, showing a donkey. “This is Prometheus. He’s going to help you travel.”

“Wow… Dad… I don’t know what to say… Thank you.” 

His father nodded. “Well... “ He hugged his son tightly. “If you’re going to get going you should go say goodbye to everyone.” He pulled away and looked Varian in the eyes. “I’m proud of you, son.” Varian softly smiled.

“Okay, Okay, I’m going to say goodbye to everyone…” He quickly hugged his dad once more. “I’ll be back eventually.” and with that, Varian had left for the castle to tell everyone.

_________ 

His goodbyes had gone smoothly… Well about as smooth as telling your best friends goodbye can be. Eugene was confused but happy for him and while Rapunzel was happy for him as well she was a bawling mess. Over the past few years they had practically become siblings and Rapunzel was sad to part with him, but he knew it had to be done. 

He had tried to say goodbye to Ruddiger but the small raccoon was absolutely insistent that he come. In the end the raccoon had won that battle.

He let out a long breath, looking at the distance. He stood on the outskirts of Corona, staring off at the sun in the sky and the long path before him. Today he started a journey that his mother had never finished. Today he made history. First stop was the fire kingdom. He gave a brief glance to his map, mounted Prometheus, picked up Ruddiger, setting him behind him on the donkey’s back and headed off into the distance.


	2. The Fire Kingdom's Walking Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huuuuuuuuuuuge thanks to my boyfriend (lemonsnail on here, @sunmosiblings on twitter) FOR WRITING A MAJORITY OF THIS CHAPTER!! PLEASE FOLLOW HIM I LOVE HIM DEARLY

Varian looked up from his map, then back down, then up again. Yep. This was the place.  
He slid off Prometheus and looked ahead of him. This would be the first kingdom where he’d start his journey. He felt a slight anxious thrill grip at his chest. He was excited but nervous. What if he failed? What if he never even got as far as his mother did? What if--

“WATCH OUT!” A voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Huh? AH!” Varian shouted in surprise, narrowly dodging a stray firework shooting in his direction. He let out a sigh of relief before shouting again and dodging another firework for a second time.

The voice that had warned him belonged to a short boy with messy dark hair. He wore red clothing, with darker red pants and yellow outlines. “Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry! I didn’t notice you there a-and I thought it was clear. This always happens--”

“WHOA KID, WATCH OUT!” Varian shouted and gripped the boy by the collar of his shirt, yanking him as a third stray firework whizzed past the two.

“Oh! Thanks! I’m Yong, by the way!” The kid talked casually as if nothing had happened. Varian didn’t doubt him when he had said this was a regular occurrence.

“Varian. And this is my pal, Ruddiger.” He said simply as he quickly showed the raccoon, looking back down at the map he had in his hands. “Uh…” He said aloud in thought.

Yong tried to look over the taller boy’s shoulder. “Whatcha’ lookin’ for?”

“There should be a trial here… but it’s not listed on the map. Not that I would expect it to be…”

“Oh! I know where that is!! Follow me!” The boy excitedly skipped forward and Varian cautiously followed the boy. Nor that he didn’t trust him, just that he seemed to be very accident-prone. Varian himself was familiar with being so and he wasn’t exactly interested in having that doubled.

Still, he followed the boy until they came to a lard red building, the entryway sheltered overhead which was held up by pillars that had dragons wrapped around them. It was certainly a magnificent sight to behold and Varian would take in the beauty of the architecture if he weren’t so focused on beginning the trial. “So… how do we start?”

“Inside!” Yong grabbed Varian’s hand and practically bounced into the building, dragging the alchemist behind him. Once they had entered, the doors behind them slammed shut and they were locked in. All that stood before them was a singular locked door. The rest of the room was barren. Varian sighed. He wasn't surprised. It was probably a puzzle. He knew Demanitus loved riddles.

"Okay so… What do we have here… Trap door? Some brick that's actually a button?" Varian wonders aloud. 

"Oh! I got this!" Yong shot up, running his hand across the wall in search of anything brick that may be a button.

"Yong! Stop! What if you--" He stops when he hears a small click. He looks to Yong’s feet to find sure enough, one of the tiles sunken in slightly. A trap tile. “LOOK OUT!” Varian shouts, and for a second time that day, saves Yong. He jumped into action, pushing the boy out of the way and holding the younger boys head down, ducking. A few arrows flew by at a whiskers length just barely skimming the top of Varian’s head. He sighs, standing up again. “Okay… we’ll just have to watch our step then.”

Yong got up from where he was laying on the ground and looked down. “Heh… Sorry.”

Varian couldn’t help but roll his eyes in an annoyed manner. He stood up and looked around the area again. “Okay… there’s gotta be something here…” He walked around the room, avoiding walking on any tiles he thought looked suspicious until he suddenly noticed something. “Look!”

Yong’s turned towards the direction Varian had been pointing, showing bricks that stood out with their color. The short boy tapped his finger on his chin, doing the same motion with his foot. A small hum came from him as he thought, looking around the labyrinth.

“Careful,” The short adult stated, “You don’t know if any of the other bricks could cause another boobytrap.” With the sentence, Yong paused his actions, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle.

The jinxed boy glanced around the room, turning in a full 360 as he got a view and noted everything around him. The walls were tall, of course, but taller than what most people could even comprehend. It was hard to see the ceiling, maybe it was because of his height, or maybe Demanitus was just very....extra… with what he did.

Continuing to note, Yong saw a closer look at the pillars and walls. The torches and the walls made everything have an added red hue to it all. The shorter boy noticed four bricks on each wall that all had different wording on them. He, slowly, walked over to one of the pillars in the corner. “The scales on this one are blue.”

“Yeah, Yong, they are. But this is no time to put together a rainbow, we have to figure out what Demanitus is trying to get at.” Varian fidgeted with his gloves, trying to focus on the task.

“And that button has ‘copper’ written on it...” Yong had pointed to the brick on the wall with the door that stood beside the two of them. 

“Aaaalright...What are you getting at?” 

“This may seem crazy,” Yong started as he walked over to the copper shaded button, “But what if this is about fireworks. I mean, we are kind of known for them!” 

Varian turned towards the boy, corners of his lips turning as he thought. “You may be onto something...But how do we know what buttons go with each pillar?”

“Well...the buttons most likely correlate to items that help fireworks change into the color we see when they explode in the sky!” Yong’s eyes shone at the idea.

“Okay, but how do we know what order? For all we know this yellow pillar could go first.”

“I dunno... Let’s find out!” As he spoke, Yong slammed his hand onto the button beside him.

“YONG NO!” Varian shouted.

The blue-scaled dragon’s eyes went from a null gray to green. Varian ran to Yong, holding him close and tight as he braced for impact.

But nothing happened...

“You have to trust me Varian!” The boy smiled, “I may be clumsy, and reckless, and a bit of a mess…”

The freckled boy motioned his hand for the other to continue, “.....But?”

“I was going to say, ‘But I have a basic idea of what I’m doing!’ but I wasn’t sure how believable that lie would have been.”

The two stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds before Yong began to continue a more calming conversation. “Alright, this button says ‘sodium nitrate’, which matches with the yellow pillar!” As he spoke, he pressed the button. The yellow dragon’s eyes did the same thing as the blue one.

Yong continued the puzzle. The button with “strontium carbonate” matched with the red dragon, and the “calcium chloride” one made the orange dragon’s eyes light up as well.

Varian smiled, giving Yong a high five, “Nice one, Yong!” The shorter boy stretched his body to reach the friendly motion. Quickly, they walked over towards the door that stood between the much larger and green dragons, pushing it open with ease.

As they walked into the next room, Yong groaned, “Please, Demanitus, let this be the last one... I don’t know how many more boobytraps my little legs can handle!”

The blue striped boy chuckled. He remembered that he felt the same exact way when he explored the secret passage to the kingdom’s vault with Rapunzel. It was filled with traps and triggers-- the two even almost got squished by one! Varian wanted to laugh from the memory, until he remembered why he was in that tunnel. Why Rapunzel was a hard person to bring up for so long. Why he felt the way he did for so long.

Shaking off the memories, Varian looked around. “Let’s not push any more random buttons, Yong. Juuust in case it could kill us-”

Yong pressed onto a red brick that stood out from the wall as Varian was speaking, “So...You’re gonna laugh..”

Before the alchemist could move, the towering wall swallowed him whole as it rotated a full 180 degrees, showing Yong a large bookshelf and ladder. 

“Varian! You turned into books! What am I going to tell Ruddiger?”

The shorter boy heard a muffled sentence from the wall, “I’m not the shelf, Yong! Flip the wall again!”

“Oh! Right!” Yong quickly ran to the wall, pressing the brick again. The door flipped just like it had done before. As Varian walked away from the switching shelf-wall, Yong looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry, Varian..”

The older male smiled softly, “It’s alright. Just...Before we do anything, let’s figure out a plan.”

Yong smiled at the freckled face in front of him, before he looked around the room. Next to the door, there was a slate engraved into the wall. As the two approached, Varian read the scripture aloud.

“The history of fire was never lost, for I hold it to my chest.”

“Demanitus…” Varian grinned, “You and your riddles…”

Yong smiled, “His riddles remind me of a character from a book my mom read to me when I was really little.”

“What story was that?”

“The Three Billy Goats Gruff! He reminds me of the troll under the bridge who asks the goats to answer his riddle to get across!”

Varian wasn’t sure what expression he should have had over that statement. “Did...You just call Demanitus a troll?”

“Well when you say it like that, it sounds worse than what I meant!”

The two stood in silence, trying to figure out what the riddle had meant. After a few quiet moments Varian spoke aloud. “The history of fire...Like...A history book? And it’s a bookshelf, so we have to find a book that talks about the history of the kingdom?”

Without question, Yong pushed the button once more. The brick wall slowly turned to show the arrangement of books once more. The duo slowly walked over towards the bottom of the shelf.

The jinxed boy lifted a book on the first shelf, “Guess we should get started..We’re gonna be here a long time..”

Looking around, Varian saw how tall the shelf really was. It took up most, if not all, the space on the wall. The spaces were like any shelf you’d see in a library or bookstore. Not one spot was blank and it seemed to go on and on above them, just barely able to see the end. Scratching his glove against his chin, Varian thought once more.

“Varian, you have to help too! Or else I’m going to be reading until I’m old and your gears in your head will rust!” The shorter whined.

“What if we don’t have to read all of these?” Varian looked over to a curious Yong, “I mean the riddle. It said, ‘I hold it to my chest’ so what if this bookcase is like a body. Think of it like where your own chest is placed.”

“So,” Yong stretched his hand up high, “We have to get a book all the way up there?”

Varian grabbed a hold of the ladder that towered above him, “Shouldn’t be...Too hard!” He spoke, trying to hide his nervousness. “I just need you to hold onto the bottom and listen for if I need to move, okay?”

“Rodger, Captain Varian! You got this!” Yong cheered as the other sheepishly smiled.

One handle at a time, Varian slowly had climbed up towards the upper part of the bookcase. Varian began to take out and put back books that didn’t have a title to match what he had been looking for. As he grazed over each book, he noticed one that slightly stuck out, as if somebody had been here before.

“The History of The Fire Kingdom..” Varian whispered. He moved to the edge of the rung, stretching in an attempt to grab a hold of the book. The ladder began to shake below him, causing Varian to almost lose his balance.

“Don’t worry!” Yong shouted from below, holding the ladder tightly. “You’re not gonna fall!” Carefully, Yong glided the object across the ground with the small wheels attached to the legs. Varian quickly grabbed the book from the shelf and climbed towards the bottom.

He sighed with relief, “Thanks Yong...Knew I could trust you.”

“Of course!” The firework boy cheered, “Now let’s get that totem!” The two sprinted towards the door, sliding it open with ease once more. 

“Never thought I’d say it, but I may miss the creepy dragon statues..” Varian chuckled. He turned to where the totem had been set.

And noticed a tall, pale man. Round glasses rested on his long and freckled covered nose. His blonde hair laid on his left and in a ponytail on the upper-back part of his head. His right side and lower part of his head was shaved. He wore green garments, metal cuffs and brown fingerless gloves. And those gloves had his pale hands. And they were holding onto-

“The totem…” Varian whispered.


	3. The Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY BABEYYYG
> 
> Also there may or may not be an update this Friday just because I have two early. We'll see.

“Hey, that belongs to us!” Varian shouted angrily. He wasn’t sure who this tall man was but he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see him stealing what they had worked so hard to earn.

“Yeah, we earned it!” Yong defended Varian.

The blonde man smirked deviously. “Huh. Weird. Cause’ I’m the one holding it… So I feel like that sort of mean that it belongs t--”

“NO WAY!” Varian angrily shouted. “We completed the trial! Not whoever you are. Hand over the totem!” Varian pointed his staff in the man's direction, threateningly

“I like your magic wand. S’pretty.” This guy was really beginning to grind his gears.

Behind him, Yong quickly whipped out some fireworks, standing in a defensive stance, ready to fire.

“Oh! And some fireworks… How fun!” The man mused whilst shoving the totem into his bag. “Well, you two are adorable. But I’m on a schedule so…” 

Before they knew what hit them, a large cloud of smoke exploded throughout the room sending the duo into a violent coughing fit. In the wake of the smoke, the blonde man was gone. Varian growled.

“He got away!” Yong shouted between coughs. “Yugh! The sulfur smell is really strong today.”

“That’s not sulfur.” Varian corrected. “The smoke bomb he used was also a stink bomb.”

“That’s kinda genius.”

Varian sighed. “I know.”

________

The tall man dashed out of the building, hurrying back to his destination. He chuckled to himself. Getting to the room where the totem was was no easy feat, but stealing it? Like taking candy from a baby.

The man ran with a wicked smile, taking turns left and right before finally stopping when he came to a narrow alleyway with a tall woman that had gray hair standing intimidatingly. “You have the totem?” She raised a brow.

“Yes ma’am!” The blonde boy enthusiastically pulled it out of his bag, handing it over to the older woman.

“Yes… Yes this is good.” She grinned. “Any difficulties you ran into?”

The blond shook his head. “Not exactly. There were these two guys, a kid and an older guy too. Kinda neigh high, stripe in hair. He had a staff too. Should’ve seen the look on his face when I called it a wand. Hilarious!”

“Hugo.” The older lady addressed the man in a serious tone. “What were they doing there?”

“They said they completed the trial. They were there to collect the totem… Before, y’know, I oh-so cleverly took from right under their noses.” Hugo puffed out his chest, proud. "They also had a book with them, it looked real old and torn. Kind of ugly if you ask me."

The old woman was not amused. “Get to them. Find them. Join them. If you work from the inside you can easily steal the totems from them without having to worry about them getting to it first. Gain their trust and betray them at the last minute. Got that?" 

Hugo nodded.

"Oh and one more thing, Do. Not. Get. Attached." The woman said.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Please, me? Getting emotionally attached? I am hollowed out husk of a man, Donella. Frankly, I would be offended at your implication, but as I said, I am an emotionless husk."

Donella rolled her eyes, not finding the man's antics to be funny. "You got the plan?" Hugo nodded again. "And follow orders this time. You know how to do that. Am I clear?"

Hugo sighed. "Yes ma’am."

________

The duo of boy and man sighed as they walked out of the building, Ruddiger and Prometheus following once they exited. "What are we going to do now?" Asked Yong.

Varian cringed. "I… I don't know… we have no idea where he could have gone. He could be miles away. He could be in another kingdom!"

"Or he could be right there!" Yong pointed behind the blue-striped man and sure enough stood Hugo.

"Hey!" Varian shouted and ran in the direction of the blond. 

"Howdy pal!" Hugo teased. He couldn't help himself.

Varian leaped forward, lunging at the man in front of him which was easily dodged with a simple sidestep. "Try again hair-stripe." He chuckled.

Varian growled. "Where's the totem?"

"The totem? Ohhh!! This?" Hugo pulled out the object of Varian's desire from his bag. 

Varian leered at the taller of them. "Give. It back."

Hugo shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"Fine then I'll- wait what?" 

"If you can reach it that is." The taller man grinned in giddy delight, holding the item over his head.

Varian, unimpressed, began jumping around and sticking his hands in the air wildly, trying to reach it.

"Aww? What's the matter, shortstack? Can't reach?"

Varian seethed. He kicked Hugo's ankles, catching him by the front of his shirt before he hit the ground and grabbed the totem out of Hugo's hand with ease. "I'll be taking that." He dropped Hugo to the ground with a 'THUD!'

The slender man quickly got up, dusted himself off and turned to Varian and Yong, focusing on Yong. "Hey kid, wanna tell goggles here to lay off on the violence?"

Yong shrugged. "Well, you did steal from us and then teased him afterwards. I'd say it's deserved." 

The pale mane quirked a brow. "Is everyone here so truly cruel?" He sarcastically remarked. "Well, ya better get used to me because I'm joining ya buddies, pals--"

"No." Varian protested.

"Friends--"

"Absolutely not."

"Besties--"

"Never in a million years.

"Comrades--"

"Shut up!" Varian shouted.

Hugo mindlessly slung his arm around Varian's shoulder. "What's wrong? Don't like those? I've got more! Amigos--"

"NO!" Varian was enraged. "We are not friends, we are not even companions, and we are NOT traveling with you."

"Why not?" 

Raising a brow and sprouting an unimpressed expression, Varian spoke again. "Maybe because our first encounter has been you stealing? And second, you being relentlessly grating and annoying?" 

"Now that's just mean. I offer you help, and this is the thanks I get? How cruel."

"Whatever." Varian mumbled, walking past the taller man.

"Fine, fine, go ahead, go on without me, but don't be complaining when you can't find your way to the next trial and you don't know how to get through it."

Varian stopped in his tracks. "You… you know how to get through the next trial?"

"Yes sir."

"And you're not lying."

"Yes sir."

"And you'd help us get through it, no tricks?"

"How many "yes sir"s do ya want goggles."

Groaning, Varian turned around to look at the blonde. "Well? You coming?" He asked.

"Why, I'd be delighted." Hugo grinned a toothy grin.

Chattering in disagreement, Ruddiger jumped onto Varian's shoulder as he mounted Prometheus again. 

"I know bud, I don't trust him either… we'll have to be careful."

Hugo leaned over to listen to the two. "What are you guys gossiping about?"

"How you have a cowlick in your hair."

"What?!" The blond man instantly went to smooth over his hair, trying to make it neat.

Varian smirked to himself and the three men and their animals rode off into the distance towards the Air Kingdom.


	4. The Air Kingdom's Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH WRITING HARD
> 
> long update! 
> 
> I DIDN'T PROOFREAD DONT KILL ME

By the time the trio had gotten to the Air Kingdom, Varian had just about ripped his hair out. As far as he was concerned, Hugo was the physical embodiment of nails on a chalkboard. He was noisy, obnoxious, rude and had no concern for the others’ well-being. 

The previous night when they had set up camp, Hugo had loudy declared he was sleeping in a tent even if Varian had been adamant in refusing to share. Needless to say, Varian lost that battle due to Hugo’s sheer will to be annoying. He didn’t get a wink of sleep. The blond man on the other hand had had quite a pleasant night. Varian knew this because he was kept awake by the other’s loud snoring. Not only did Hugo noisily snore, he also shifted in his sleep a lot which led to plenty of accidental kicking to Varian’s shins and many elbows to his stomach and chest. If Varian didn’t know better he would have assumed the man were doing it on purpose. 

It was plain to see that Varian had just about had it with the blonde man; and it had only had one night. He wasn’t sure if he had the strength to endure a whole journey with him.

“Hey goggles-”

“Shut up.” The striped-hair hair boy simply demanded and glanced down to his map again. “Okay. This is the place.” He looked down to Yong, climbing off Prometheus. “You ready?”

Yong grinned back and nodded.

“You.” He jabbed a finger to Hugo’s chest. “Do. Not. Mess. This. Up.” He emphasized every word with clear authority to which the blond man simply shrugged and mumbled out, “No promises~!” 

The trio walked into the kingdom, taking in their surroundings. It wasn’t long before they heard a shout and noticed multiple people running in the same direction towards what looked like underground bunkers. Varian ran, following the crowd until he stopped before the bunker. There was a young girl guiding others to the bunker and rushing them in. She wore a simple baby blue dress that had a yellow ribbon tied at her waist. The lower part of the dress had pale yellow dots that connected to make constellations. “What’s going on?” He asked.

“Oh! Visitors!” She said in a happy tone despite the fact that everyone was practically running for their lives. “Please, don’t worry, this is only a drill. You see, every year there is an annual meteor shower. As the princess of the kingdom it is my job to keep everyone safe. To do this, I must orderly and neatly get everyone to safety.”

“Why don’t you guys just… move?” Hugo asked out of genuine curiosity. Varian smacked his arm, telling him that was rude to ask.

“My people are very stubborn. This is their land and they refuse to leave. We’ve been here for centuries. We can’t leave.” 

Varian nodded in understanding as he watched the last few people make their way into the bunker. The princess soon followed after, waving for the trio and their animal companions to follow behind.

The bunker was somewhat cramped but Varian was pleasantly surprised to find he at least had enough room to move his arms around. He had spent an entire night cramped in a tent with Hugo; The last thing he needed was to be crowded in another small area with the obnoxious man.

“Yeah, I understand that but you guys are in literal danger here. Do you guys have any self-preservation skills?” Hugo continued to ask questions.

The woman looked at the blonde with an unimpressed glare. “I do not like you.” She stated simply.

Varian rolled his eyes, not pleased with Hugo’s bothersome attitude. “Sorry about him. Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?”

“Oh! I totally forgot, where are my manners? I’m Nuru, princess of the Air Kingdom!” She gave a polite smile and bowed gracefully. 

Varian kindly grinned back. “I’m Varian.” He pointed to the shorter boy standing next to him. “That’s Yong.” Then, he pointed to Hugo. “And the one you don’t like is Hugo.”

Hugo opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a loud voice announcing the drill was over and people began flooding out of the bunker. The trio and the princess were the last to exit along with Prometheus and Ruddiger, who was riding on Varian’s shoulder. Varian turned to Hugo and spoke. “Okay, Hugo. You said you could lead us to the next trial. Where is it?” 

Hugo chuckled nervously. “I may have lied.” 

“Oh my God.” Varian said. “Oh my God.” He repeated in disbelief. The disbelief was more at himself for even trusting the thief. “Of course! Lovely! Great!” He shouted in rage and gripped Hugo by the collar of his shirt who only anxiously smiled back.

“Now, Goggles. No need to get in a rage. I’m sure we’ll find it, it can’t be too hard!”

“Riddle me this, Hugo. Did you also lie about knowing how to get through the trial.”

“Heh… Well…” He trailed off.

Varian shook the man aggressively. “I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU YOU PIECE OF--”

“Did I hear you guys talking about the trial?” Nuru came up from behind, putting a hand on Varian’s shoulder, giving a calming squeezing to relax the man.

Immediately dropping the collar of Hugo and turning to look at the teen with a polite smile, Varian answered with a yes.

She giggled. "Well, I'm glad to say that I may be able to help. Follow me." The group followed behind Nuru until they stopped before a large building similar to the one Yong and Varian had entered for the last trial. The building was slightly larger than the other and instead of red, it was painted a deep royal blue with brighter tones of blue for the pillars which were decorated with white dots to represent stars. 

Varian breathed in, staring at the building in wonder. “Wow... “ It was beautiful to look at. 

His adoration for the sight before him was shortly interrupted by Yong. “Well, what are we waiting for! Let’s go!” The young boy was giddy to get started. 

The four walked into the building, leaving Prometheus and Ruddiger behind. The doors slammed closed behind them and drowned the room in pure darkness. 

Murmurs of confusion flooded the room from the group of trial-goers until Varian yelled, "STOP!" They all looked at him with confused expressions.

"Okay. Obviously, we can barely see, but we can figure out something." Varian strained his browser, deep in thought.

"What if it's a death trap." Once again, Hugo cut in with the worst case scenario.

"Will you shut up?!" Varian angrily growled to the man. 

"But what if it is?!" 

Varian grabbed Hugo by what he thought was his collar. He couldn't quite tell in the darkness. "We don't need you making everyone's anxiety worse!"

"I'm just trying to help! If I'm right, then we could be in danger!" Hugo pushed Varian.

Varian pushed back.

Soon the two boys were in a pushing match, each trying to one-up the other in terms of strength.

Eventually Hugo pushed too hard. Varian fell to the floor with a 'THUD'. He was about to get up and yell at the Blond man before a small shimmer of light appeared behind him. "Wait." He turned and looked at the source of the light. Behind him stood a small mushroom radiating a blue glow. "Huh…" he hummed in thought before tapping the mushroom with his finger. The light disappeared. He tapped again. It came back. "Guys, the mushrooms! They glow when you touch them!"

Everyone began scanning the walls behind them in search of any of the small plant-like objects. One by one the mushrooms began to glow and lit up the room to a dim glow to the point where they could at least see what was before them. Varian's jaw dropped. It was a huge maze that would require much diligence and care to get through. "Okay… how are we going to get through this?"

Nuru tried to speak with alarm. "Guys! The--"

Hugo interrupted rudely, "What if we all split up and just yell when why find the right path?"

"And give you the chance to steal the totem and sneak out of here when we're not looking? No thanks." Varian glared at Hugo. 

"Guys, seriously, I think that--"

This time, Yong interrupted. "I think I have a good sense of direction. I can lead us!"

Varian shook his head. "No offense Yong, but you are the last person I would choose to lead us somewhere." He sighed. "No… I gotta think. Maybe if we--"

"WILL YOU GUYS PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!?" Nuru shouted above everyone's voices. They all turned to face her with slightly shocked looks. Up until now the princess had been polite and kind; The sudden shift in demeanor surprised the bunch. “Look!” She pointed to the bottom of her dress, holding it up slightly. One of the constellations on her dress had begun to glow in the light of the mushrooms. “The Ursa Major! That must have something to do with the maze!”

“You’re right.” Varian scanned over the maze before spotting a large bear drawn on a sign somewhere in the midst. “That must be the right path! Ursa Major is a large bear, right?” Nuru nodded. “Then that must be the right way! Let’s go!”

The group of friends quickly made their way through twists and turns in the maze, mushrooms of light guiding them until they got to the sign that had the drawing of a large bear on it, roaring ferociously. “Okay… what do we do now?”  
Nuru opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a loud roar in the distance. “What was…?” A large frog like creature that was blue and striped with orange turned the corner of the maze, running at them at full force, screaming and roaring. The group yelled and ran wildly, Nuru and Hugo splitting off in one direction while Varian and Yong went the other in a panic. The frog creature chased after the princess and thief.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!” Hugo yelled over the beasts yelling, still running as fast as he could.

“I-I don’t know! But we can’t let it catch us!”

“Oh well woooooooow! I couldn’t tell. Thank you princess!” He sarcastically yelled back.

Nuru glared at the blond, not appreciating his sarcasm at the current moment. She tried to think but that can be quite hard to do when a large scaly creature is nipping at your heels.

They kept running until they came to a dead end. “WOW AWESOME!” Hugo’s sarcasm was overbearing. Nuru was about to say something when her jaw dropped open as Hugo skillfully scaled the wall, climbing to the top. 

“What about me?!” Nuru screamed to the blond boy. He turned around from where he was, extending one of his lanky arms down with an open hand.

“Jump! Grab my hand I’ll pull you up!”

“I- I won't make it!” She looked behind her as the creature grew closer.

“Just do it!”

“How do I know this isn’t a trick? Varian said you’ve lied to him before!”

“For goodness sakes woman! We don’t have all day!” 

Hesitantly she jumped up, half expecting Hugo to not even grab her but sure enough there was a firm grip on her hand and he began to pull the girl up until she too was sitting on the wall. “Now we jump!” He jumped off the wall, landing on the opposite side of where the beast had been coming from, Nuru following shortly after. They heard a loud “THUD” as they landed. The brute must have ran head-first into the wall.

They sat on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily before laughing. “That was a rush!” Nuru said. “This is way more exciting than protecting my village!”

Hugo chuckled. “That was awesome! I never expected anything like that but wow!”

Nuru smiled at Hugo and the blond smiled back. “I hope the others are okay.”

Hugo lost his smile. “Oh yeah…”

_________ 

“I think we lost it.” Varian stated, panting for air as the boy standing next to him did the same. They were given a brief moment to catch their breath before they heard the roar of the beast again. “Oh good grief!” Varian shouted in a rage.

The two began running again, not turning to look behind them until they came to a dead end. Varian and Yong turned to look at the creature. Varian’s defensive stance did little to deter the creature as it jumped at him and pinned him down, sniffing him and growling. “AHH!” He shouted in fear. “YONG! HELP!”

Yong looked around, desperately searching for a way to help. “YONG. THE TAIL. CHECK IF IT HAS A TAIL! GRAB IT AND THROW IT!” Yong spun around, running behind the brute as it was distracted by Varian. Sure enough it did but Yong was confused. Throw it? How?! The thing was huge! Still, he gave it a try. He grabbed it by it’s short stubby tail, and pulled. Suddenly the creature was being dragged back. This thing wasn’t heavy at all! He pulled with all his might and as he pulled the creature’s tail began to stretch until finally he gained the strength and with all his might, he threw the creature far, far, away into the distance.

Varian, got up breathing heavily. “Thanks, Yong.” He said simply, trying to stop shaking from the frightening incident.

“Of course! But… how did you know to do that?”

“Ursa Major used to be a maiden called Callisto. Zeus had an affair with her and to protect her and his son from his angry wife he turned them to bears and threw them into the sky.” Varian recited his knowledge of the constellation, very proud of himself.

“Wow…” Yong looked at Varian with adoring eyes. He was beginning to look up to the alchemist. “That’s so cool!”

“Yup!” Varian chirped then fell into silence. “I wonder where Nuru and Hugo are…”

_________ 

The two sat there for a minute until the faint glow on Nuru’s dress changed from the Ursa Major to another one. “The Ursa Minor is glowing now!”

“And that means…?”

“We’ll have to find out.” Hugo said, rising to his feet and extending a hand toward Nuru for her to grab.  
The teen pulled herself up, and watched as Hugo climbed the wall again, turning and pulling her over the wall as they had done earlier and went back the way they had come. Eventually they had come back to where they had first encountered the monster and stood in front of the sign with the bear.

“Nuru! Hugo!” The two turned as they heard their names being called, seeing Yong and Varian running in their direction. “Oh thank goodness you guys are okay!”

“We’re glad to see you too!” Nuru smiled at the two. “I think you guys did something! My dress is glowing again.” She stated and pointed to the ursa minor.

Varian stared at her dress then at the sign. “Look. There’s a smaller constellation here under the bear. Try pointing your dress at the sign.”

Nuru did as she was directed and pointed her dress at the sign. There was a moment of silence before a loud rumbling began and the wall behind the sign slowly started to lower until it finally opened to reveal a room with a long carpet and a stand holding up what had to be the totem. 

“We did it!” Yong shouted, running down the carpet nearly tripping multiple times. Hugo followed after quickly.

Meanwhile, Varian lagged behind, grabbing Nuru by the shoulder. “What happened back there? When you ran off with Hugo?”

Nuru smiled. “He saved my life.” She looked at the blond in front of them. “I think that you should have more trust in him.” Then shrugged. “Or not. For the record, I still think he’s suspicious but he did help me.”

Varin sat in a moment of silence before walking down the long room and joining up with the others. He grabbed the totem and put in his bag, sharing words of celebration with the group as they all walked out.

_________ 

“So, Nuru, what are you going to do after this?” Varian asked as they exited the building.

“Actually, I was thinking… Maybe I could join you guys? If that is okay with you, of course.”

Varian grinned, “We’d love to have you.”

Later that night when they set up camp between traveling to kingdoms, Varian sat in his tent and stared at the snoring man next to him. He wondered if Hugo really wawa trustworthy or not. He may have saved Nuru but he hadn’t shown anything trustworthy to Varian. Was he friend or foe?

Varian let out a sigh of stress before laying down, attempting to sleep at least an hour before they headed off for the water kingdom.


	5. The Traps of The Water Kingdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit rushed to get it out for the weekly friday update so forgive me ^^"

The travel to the water kingdom was much more exhausting, taking longer than the previous trips. It took a good three days and two nights to get to the kingdom and by the time they were there, Varian’s feet ached. He had let Yong and Nuru alternate turns riding Prometheus and had insisted it was fine that he walked despite Nuru’s protests. He just wanted to collapse.

He was happy to get to the kingdom and was ready to turn into the inn for the night and continue to the trial tomorrow. Unfortunately for him, Yong had other plans. “Whoa! Is that an aquarium?!” He pointed to the building that very clearly had “Archer’s Aquarium” painted on the sign next to it. Varian screamed internally in frustration. He was tired and didn’t want to make any pit stops but he didn’t want to say no either. It was probably Yong’s first time out of the kingdom and he wanted to explore. Varian couldn’t blame him for that.

“Yeah, but we don’t really have time to--”

“Aw c’mon goggles, don’t be such a stick in the mud. Let the kid explore! It won't hurt if we go in for a while, right?” Hugo playfully jabbes an arm into Varian’s side which was rudely smacked away.

“I guess…” He reluctantly agreed. He only felt slightly better when he saw Yong’s face light up and even Nuru grinned. Hugo looked happy too but it did little to brighten his mood. He did not care for the blond’s feelings.

They gang walked into the aquarium as Varian left Prometheus and Ruddiger outside, trusting them to not raise havoc. Nuru and Yong immediately ran off together the moment they entered the building, leaving Varian stuck with Hugo. Varian was slowly beginning to dislike children.

“Well hair-stripe, looks like it’s just you and me!” 

“Nope. Just you.” Varian began walking away, leaving Hugo to be on his own.

Hugo, being as persistent as he was, simply followed the shorter man. “Aw, c’mon sugar, don’t be so mean.” 

“Shut up.” Varian hissed. “And don’t call me that.”

“What? Sugar? Okay. How about sweet-cheeks? Rose? Beloved? Darling?”

Varian had to stop himself from decking the man with glasses in the face. He didn’t want to cause a scene in public. If they had still been travelling he would have gladly taken a swing at the older man. Instead he slapped the man on the arm. “Will you shut up?!” He harshly whispered.

“Why? Does it make you mad?” Hugo had the gall to smirk at him. 

Yes. It made him quite mad. Enraged, in fact. But he didn’t want to give Hugo the satisfaction of knowing that. “No. It’s just annoying.”

“It makes you mad. Admit it.”

“Shut up, glasses.”

“Glasses? Oh… You’re so mean to me… How could you?” The blond man feigned an expression of hurt before chuckling.

Varian on the other hand found the situation to be less than desired. He walked down the long corridor of glass and water in front of him, admiring the fish and ignoring Hugo. He stopped for a minute to stare and admire it. It was calming.

That was until Hugo came over his shoulder and stared intently. Varian pointed to a rather ugly looking fish. “Look, that one looks like you.” 

“WHAT?!” Hugo shouted in shock. Varian chuckled to himself. “Gotcha” He thought.

________ 

By the time the duos had regrouped, Varian was exhausted and so was everyone else. They had turned in for a night at the inn and for the first time in a while, Varian got a good night of sleep not having been forced to sleep next to a snoring and kicking Hugo so by the morning he was ready to take on whatever the trial threw at him.

The group of friends quickly ate a meal and went off on their way into town to find the next trail site. It only took a little asking around to find the place. Again, the building had large pillars and followed a similar architecture to the previous trial sites. The pillars were a pale blue and were painted with a pattern to make it look as if the pillars were made of water. The pillars were dotted with little paintings of all types of fish.

Varian only spared a moment looking at the building before leading the others inside. Again, just as the precious trials had done, the doors slammed close behind them. The room inside was well lit and had pale blue walls decorated with wall lamps and bookshelves. Varian turned and saw a large button that said “Press me.” Okay… obviously that was a trick. He felt a small prickle of panic in his throat when he saw Yong near the button. “Yong, do not press that!”

Yong chuckled nervously. “I have some terrible news.”

Varian sighed in annoyance before noticing three circular latches on the upper part of the walls releasing and opening small circular doors. Through the circular small doors water began to rush out, beginning to fill the room with water, quickly.

Panicked, Varian began to look around the room for any way to prevent the water from pouring more and more into the room. He was only met back with the frantic stares of his friends and Hugo. The man tried to think of any way to solve the problem as he felt his feet leave the ground. The water was now up to his shoulders.

There wasn’t time to think of any solution as he took a deep breath of air and the water finally reached the ceiling, engulfing everyone underwater. Varian thought for a moment. He was panickedly thinking about how he couldn’t die and how he didn’t even get to say goodbye. Eventually, he accepted his fate. His mind calmed as he realized this was it and he couldn’t do anything and he closed his eyes. The princess would keep everyone happy. Ruddiger could live without him and keep his father company.

Suddenly, he sputtered. He could breathe. His eyes shot open in confusion. “What?” He said. His voice… it was clear. He could speak. He could breath. But… how? He was breathing and talking underwater. He thought back to moments before he could breathe. What had happened…

That was it! He had cleared his mind! “Guys! This sounds crazy, but believe me, just try and clear your minds and you can breathe!” His shouts were desperate.

Nuru was the first to follow through, Yong shortly following after. The two were shocked and ecstatic. They shouted words of joy as they realized they could breathe.

Varian would have joined if it weren’t for the fact that they were still missing someone. “Hugo!” Varian swam over to Hugo, looking at him. “What-What’s going on? Why aren’t you breathing yet? You just need to calm down. Clear your mind.”

Hugo looked at him with a desperate look. He looked at Varian as if to say “I can’t. I don’t have anything to think of.”

Varian blinked in understanding and his gaze turned gentle. He laid a caring hand ong the tall man’s shoulder. “You can do this Hugo. Think of something happy. Think of something calming. I promise this will be okay. I’m not leaving you behind.”

Hugo gave him a slight look of shock before closing his eyes. He sighed and breathed in and… exhaled a shaky breath of air. He gasped. “I can breathe!” He said.

“You did it.” Varian gave his first ever genuine smile to Hugo.

Hugo smiled back and then the two swam over to their friends. The four looked at each other and then they all looked expectantly at Varian. “Okay. We gotta find a way out of here. There must be some way to get out of here.”

Hugo held up a finger as if to say “one moment” and swam away towards one of the lamps on the wall. “Check the others! See if there’s any keys or levers!”

Varian was pleasantly surprised at Hugo’s sudden show of cleverness. He and the others all swam off in different directions, each reaching a lamp. He punched the light bulb and let out a slight yelp of pain as one of the shards skimmed past knuckles, giving a slightly deep cut to it. He’d have to worry about that later, he decided as he looked back down to the lamp. Nothing. Maybe the others had found something.

“Here!” Nuru shouted, holding a golden key in her hand.

“Nice work, Nuru!” Varian praised the teen for her work. “Let’s try it out over there.”

He pointed to the door that was placed opposite from the one they had entered from. The four swam down to the door as Nuru inserted the key and twisted.

Suddenly the water flooded out of the door, sending the friends tumbling to the ground as the water leveled out. 

Nuru and Yong had landed somewhere near the door while Hugo had somehow ended up laying over Varian’s legs. The two sat in silence for a minute, locking in an awkward staring contest before Varina, began to chuckle, then started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. He can’t believe he lived. Hugo and the others had slowly joined in with the joyous laughter.

Varian eventually stopped laughing to actually survey the room. He noticed the totem at the end of the room and stood up immediately. “The totem!” He grinned and was about to run to get it but stopped. Something felt off and Varian always trusted his gut about these things. Suddenly he was snapped out of these thoughts when he heard an angelic voice calling to him. “Varian!” 

He looked around. “Who-Who said that?”

“Varian… Come on… You’ve worked so hard for this... “

“The totem?”

“No… the defeat of the princess!” He blinked and when he opened his eyes again, Rapunzel sat in front of him. He was no longer in the room; He was back in Corona. The princess sat before him, helpless and tired. 

He shook his head. He felt sick. “No… No, no, no…”

“What do you mean no? She betrayed you, did she not? Come on, Varian… You were in the right all those times… She hurt you. She denied you help! KILL HER!” The voice demanded.

He sighed. Something about this felt tempting. He stepped forward, staff in hand and raised it over Rapunzel’s head. “Varian…?” She asked sadly.

He hesitated. Was this a test? He knew this was wrong but he felt like something else encouraging him. The voice was eating away at him.

“GET HER!”

Varian squeezed his eyes shut and with a final breath… screamed “NO!” He turned away from the figure. “This isn't right!” 

“She betrayed you! She hurt you! She’s in the wrong!”

“Maybe so… but she’s also my friend… She may have been in the wrong but so was I. I did so much worse. I don’t deserve to be praised for that.” He sighed and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again he was back in the room with the totem. Nuru was there and so was Yong and Hugo. But something was off. Their eyes weren’t normal. They were taken over by a white-ish glow. 

Varian ran up to the closest person which was Nuru. He shook her shoulders. “C’mon Nuru! It’s not real!”

It was only a few minutes before Nuru blinked and her eyes were back to normal. “Varian? I thought…? I was in my kingdom, and I was going to save them b-but something was wrong…? I said no… Was it fake…?”

Varian nodded. “It was a trick. We can’t let them trick the others either. Take care of Yong. I’ve got Hugo.” The teen nodded in agreement and then ran to Yong, leaving Hugo to Varian.

“Hugo! Snap out of it! It’s not real, I promise!” He roughly shook the blond man, trying to wake him from his trance.

Meanwhile, Hugo was panicking in his illusion. “Come one… just destroy them… They’ve hurt you before.” The voice whispered in his ear.

“Yeah but…” Hugo looked to the ground. Before him sat his parents. He wanted to destroy them so badly. He had never been anything but a disappointment to them. They berated him constantly but something in the back of his mind resisted. He knew this wasn’t the answer.

“But what? They’ve done nothing but hurt you, no?”

“I know… but…”

“But nothing!” The voice was harsh and Hugo flinched. “Just do it. Do it. Do it.” The voice repeated over and over. “Do it, do it, do it, do it--”

“NO!” Hugo shouted and suddenly he was back in the room with Varian and the others but he still felt slightly panicked. “No…” He whispered to himself before shaking his head and looking to Varian. “Varian…?”

“Hugo!” Varian shouted. “You’re back!” He smiled half-heartedly and turned to Nuru and Yong who were both staring at Varian and Yong. Varian sighed in relief. “Is… Is everyone good?”

They all nodded in response and Varian looked ahead. The bad feeling was gone. This time he took confident strides towards the totem, before grabbing it and putting it in his bag. “Let’s head to the inn… It’s been a long day.” He wasn’t as excited as last time. The illusion had put him in a sour mood. The others nodded in agreement and they headed out of the building.

________ 

Varian had stayed up late that night, he couldn’t sleep still haunted by the illusion earlier. He sighed and sat up in bed.

“Goggles?”

Great. What’d he want? He looked to the side, staring at the blond with a raised brow.

Without warning, the man in glasses’ hand darted out and grabbed Varians, looking at his knuckles. “Ah…” He said, staring at the cut. “Does it still hurt?”

Varian nodded, slightly confused. Why was he being so nice?

Hugo grabbed a first aid kit from the bag underneath his bed, pulling out an antibiotic and bandages. He carefully cleaned the wound, before gently wrapping it in bandages.

Varin tilted his head. “Why are you being nice to me?”

Hugo went silent and then smiled. “I owe you one… for earlier… twice.”

Varian blinked. “About earlier… When you said “No…” What’d you mean.”

“Nothing.” He responded curtly.

Varian paused for a moment. “Wanna talk about it?”

Hugo shook his head “No.”

“Okay…”

“Kay… Talk to you in the morning.” Hugo awkwardly shifted away from Varian, going back to his own bed and collapsing onto it.

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Varian felt a warm sensation in his chest. He laid down and fell asleep shortly after into a comfortable sleep. Tomorrow they travelled for the earth kingdom.


	6. The Family of the Earth Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "-Family is people who support you and are always there for you, especially when you need it the most."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! EARLY CHAPTER! YES! And I, Hugo/lemonsnail/sunmosibs, have written it all! So if it's bad I expect hate mail! (Kidding, kidding...maybe) I really hope you do enjoy the chapter!

“The next stop shouldn’t be too far,” Varian hummed with an almost skip in his step. He looked down towards the map, checking the directions and location once more, “The Earth Kingdom, huh?”

“I heard they’re known for their farming and inventions!” Nuru beams, “Nothing like the Industrial Kingdom’s inventions but I hear they’re really good!” The girl quickly pranced up towards the freckled male.

The boy sitting on the saddle cheered, “Do you think they know anything about fireworks? I dunno if they’d enjoy lighting such explosive items out in a field of corn…”

The princess chuckled, “I doubt that, but we can always ask. We can also see if anybody knows about the trial.” The girl leaned over Varian’s shoulder, looking at the map alongside him, “It’s not too far! We should get there within a few days!” 

“You’re sure excited to see pasture land, dead grass and the overwhelming sun, princess.” Hugo snickered, until the girl in question stepped her heel into the boy’s boot. All he got as an apology was a sarcastic “Whoops!” from the princess.

“Stop!” Yong whined, “You guys need to be nicer to each other!”

Nuru looked from the young boy to the older male, “I don’t need to be anything positive towards this jerk!”

Hugo groaned, “You’re the one who constantly is pushing her heel into my feet!”

“You deserve it, you liar!” The girl pointed her finger to Hugo’s chest.

The blonde’s hands were held outwards, showing his confusion, “Pray tell, what have I lied about, princess?” 

“I may not know now but I’ll figure you out! Your kind are always hiding things from people!”

“Nuru!” The boy whined.

Hugo flinched, “Your kind are the people that like to kill your own people off due to you being selfish pricks! But you didn’t hear that from me!”

“Guys, guys,” Varian stood between the two’s death glares, “Let’s try to be a little nicer, okay? I know you two don’t always see eye-to-eye but I’m sure if we stayed a little positive you’d be at each other’s throats a lot less!” The man tried his best to keep peace between the two of them. 

Varian really wished the group could get along, and he’s tried to keep them all together, really he has. As of lately, Nuru and Hugo have been at each other’s necks, causing Yong to get upset and get involved which led to Varian almost bursting into smithereens with fury. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could be a semi-decent peacekeeper. When he was around his friends in Corona, Rapunzel was able to keep everybody on track. How in the world was she able to keep sane with Cassandra and Eugene’s constant bickering? 

“You sure, Goggles?” Hugo smirked, “I don’t think Miss Prissy-And-Proper could even stay eye to eye with me due to her being about five inches shorter than me…”

“That’s it!” Nuru ran towards the skinny lad, about to strike him down. The two pushed and pulled at each other, yelling insults to and fro. After just seconds, Yong hopped off of Prometheus, trying to pull each other away. It was a ball of screaming and yelling and it was getting to be too much for Varian.

“THAT’S IT!” The alchemist yelled. The three looked in the man’s direction, holding up each other’s limbs and hair as if they were frozen in place. Varian didn’t take a moment to breathe, “YOU’RE ALL DRIVING ME UP AND DOWN THE WALL WITH YOUR BICKERING. UNTIL WE GET TO THE EARTH KINGDOM, I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD FROM ANY OF YOU SINCE YOU HAVE ALL SHOWED ME YOU CANNOT HANDLE BEING IN A CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER. AM I UNDERSTOOD OR AM I GOING TO HAVE TO SPEAK OVER YOUR NONSENSICAL YELLING ONCE MORE?”

Yong was the first to stand properly as he looked at the grass and dirt, then Nuru dusted off her skirt but still wouldn’t look at the blonde who was beginning to stand next to her. All three sighed, “Understood…”

Varian was nearly angrily shouting still, “Thank you! Now, we should be there before nightfall.”

The rest of the journey was almost pure silence. No quips from Hugo, no laughs from Yong, no interesting facts about random places from Nuru. Pure. Silence. Varian wasn’t sure if he enjoyed the cease of shouting, or was nervous from the quiet. For the first time in a while, Varian could hear his own thoughts. It was almost as if he missed the group’s fighting. He personally would have enjoyed it if they could have nice conversations together. He didn’t hate the princess and thief’s banter, but he really disliked it when it turned into a real and full brawl that was damaging the group’s friendship...Now what was he supposed to do?

As the sun began to set, Varian cheered, “Guys! I think that’s it!” The others looked up from the dirt, seeing small buildings, fields, and a few people bustling around. “Nuru, do you know where the inn may be?” The princess only shrugged, not even grazing her eyes over the man. The alchemist solemnly sighed, looking back towards the village. He noticed what looked like a family tidying up before they would head inside. A lady came out of the building beside them and began to talk to the kids that were outdoors. “Let’s ask them, they may know something!”

Quickly, Varian led the group towards the home, not wanting to alarm the family. “Excuse me?” He smiled, “My friends and I were wondering if there was an inn nearby? We needed a place to stay for the night.” The freckled male looked back to his quiet friends and donkey.

“Hello old man!” a girl with red hair with low pigtails smiled. She had a split in her teeth that Varian noticed as she teased the group, “My name is Tulip! You can say that right? Too-lip? Or do you have a lisp like Ty?”

“It’s not that bad, Tulie!” A boy that looked like an exact replica of the small girl grunted, “Don’t mind her! She has no idea what she’s talking about!”

“You two are going to get them all confused and they won’t even want to stay in the kingdom..” A larger girl with red hair and black streaks groaned.

“You’re such a downer, Vannie!” The small boy shouted at the girl.

“Calm down, guys!” A boy with glasses sighed, “We can’t get anything done with you all shouting over each other!”

“Jackie’s right!” A taller girl chirped. She wrapped her bandaged and freckled arm around the boy named “Jackie” with a large, toothy grin. “Now everybody head inside! I’ll get mom and dad to help the newcomers!” As soon as she spoke, the younger kids ran indoors. The girl turned towards the group, letting Varian be able to see her better. 

She put her red locks into a ponytail, thought still, some hair fell around her freckled face. You could see her strength just by looking at her due to her muscular arms. Her front teeth and eyes were just like Varian’s. The girl stuck her hand out, “I’m Sam! Nice to meet you all!” 

Varian did the same action, reaching his hand out to the girl. As he spoke, he turned towards the traveling group, “I’m Varian, and these are my friends Ruddiger, Prometheus, Yong, Nuru and Hugo.” 

“It’s nice to meet you! Now..there’s a sliiight predicament with your question.” Sam huffed, “There is indeed an inn downtown, but it’s fairly expensive. Good news is, I’m sure my maw and paw would be happy to hold you all for a few days!”

Nuru slowly walked to stand beside Varian, getting a look at the girl. “You don’t mind?” The princess’ voice was very hushed and slightly shaky.

“”Course not! You seem like a fun bunch!” Sam smiled, “C’mon in! We’re just about to have dinner!” The stronger girl held onto Nuru’s hand, pulling her indoors. Varian noticed the princess’ face flushing from the contact. The rest of the gang slowly walked in, overhearing that one of the children was going to put Prometheus in their barn for the night. 

Sam immediately cut to the chase about the situation, “Hey, mom! These fella’s need a place to stay for the night. Do you mind if they stay with us?” The girl leaned on the kitchen counter, keeping an arm around Nuru. 

Her mother had a build like the larger girl outdoors, except her hair was pure black and put into a bun on the top of her head. She wore an apron that was covered with the ingredients she was using for dinner. “I don’t mind, dear.” The woman smiled, “Go show them the spare room they can stay in, and don’t get too chummy, dinner will be ready soon! Oh, and where are my manners, my name is Margaret; but you can just call me Maggie.” 

“Nice to meet you, Maggie.” Hugo spoke with a calm and kind tune. It was odd to hear him speak like that to anybody. It may just be the fact that she didn’t even debate about letting the group stay for the night...

“Gotcha!” Quickly, Sam leaned over to the boy with glasses, “Jackie, can you go get dad?” The small boy only nodded, sprinting towards the back door. “Come with me, fellas!”

The room was down the hall and to the left. It had extra cots, pillows and blankets so they all could stay somewhat warm throughout the night. As soon as Sam was done explaining, she pulled the group to the dining room. Together, everybody set up the table for dinner in just mere moments. 

There was another man Varian hadn’t seen before. He had red hair, dark rimmed glasses that laid on his freckled nose and cheeks, right in front of his baby blue eyes. He wore an apron but it was covered with oil stains and grease. He was a rather slim and thin man in comparison to his wife and a few kids. “It’s good to see new faces around here!” The man smiled, “So sorry I didn’t get to say howdy earlier, I was out in the workshop fine tuning the twins’ machines. My name is Elric!”

“Elric, it’s good to meet you!” Yong chirped from his seat, taking a big bite of the meal.

Hugo grinned, “So you work on inventions, huh? Do tell…”

Elric gave the man a similar reaction, “Yes! We do! My whole family is a bunch of inventors and scientists. Of course, some do other activities every once in a while, we always come together with the things that make us all happy; something that ties us together.”

“That’s quite interesting, Elric...I bet you work out in the shop often, huh?” Nuru hums, continuing the conversation.

“It’s like a second home!” The man laughs, “Now enough about our wacky bunch, what are you folk doin’ out here in the Earth Kingdom? Here to participate in our yearly Science Festival?”

Varian’s eyes sparkled at the idea, before focusing on the task at hand. “Well, we needed to get to the Earth Trial. My mom had a journal and she wrote about her adventure through the seven kingdoms, doing the seven trials and finally finding the Eternal Library. I felt a connection with her work and study of alchemy...I wanted to continue her research, and do the trials myself!”

Elric laughed, “That sounds just like my sister! She had a journal and everything! You see, my sister had a partner with her, I believe her name was Donella, and together they explored the seven kingdoms, getting each totem together and finally reaching the Eternal Library.” The man’s smile was large, until he took a brief moment of silence, “But...after some time, Donella came to visit us, and said that my sister was in a great accident, and wasn’t with us anymore…”

“I am so sorry for your loss…” Nuru softly frowned, putting her hand on the man’s shoulder. He replied with a soft, “Thank you..”

“Though her loss was heartbreaking, I knew she wouldn’t want me to give up on my dreams. Ever since we were little, we were inseparable, and every time I was down she would say the same few words. ‘Never stop aiming for your destiny.’ She was my main motivator, and sometimes I wish she was here to see all my precious scientists before me…”

“Even though I never met her,” Tulip sighs, “I would have loved to meet Auntie Ulla…”

Varian, Nuru, Yong and Hugo all dropped their silverware over the name. The redheaded family looked in the group’s direction as the four looked at each other. After a few moments, Hugo began to cackle.

“Holy smokes, Goggles! I didn’t know your whole family was a bunch of scientists!”

Nuru began to giggle, “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, huh?” 

“THIS IS INCREDIBLE!” Yong shouted. 

Sam slammed her hands onto the table, smile growing more and more, “I knew you looked too much like Jackie, here! The eyes are too similar to not be related!”

“We all have the same color of eyes, Sam…” Jackie sighed, “But yeah...It’s not impossible to meet another person with buck teeth, freckles and blue eyes, and have them not be related to us, but…”

Elric put up his hands, “Okay, settle down team. One question at a time!” As he sat back down, he looked to Varian, “So you’re related to us?”

“Yes...Yes I think so...My mother, Ulla, is your sister.” Varian quickly grabbed the journal from his bag, “This was hers…” 

Elric’s eyes lit up as he held the book, looking at the pages with nothing but happiness, reading Ulla and Varian’s notes. After a few moments he looked up to the alchemist, smile growing softer. “I’m so glad to have you as a part of the family…” The skinny man pulls him into a hug, causing the rest of the family to join in as well. At first, Varian didn’t know what to do. He had just met these people, but he immediately grew into the warm embrace.

The rest of the night was a blast, in Varian’s opinion. He got to learn about the different inventions Tulip and Ty created together, the helpful creations Sam wanted to make for her family, the blueprints Vannie had made in her spare time, he even got a smile out of her! The alchemist was enjoying the time with his family, it was the most excitement he’s had in a while, other than the trials. 

The dreadful truth was, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave…

These people understood him. They were rowdy, sure, but they were willing to be patient, they were kind and exciting, refreshing and forgiving, they were all around so smart, meticulous and wonderful. But most of all, they were his family...Did he really want to leave these people?

The breeze in the morning was energizing. The freckled man checked the map again, noticing the doodle Elric scribbled in where the trial was supposed to be the night before. He had wished them all luck that morning at breakfast; Varian was not able to describe how thankful he was.

The four of them stood outside of the side of a mountain, unable to find the entrance. “Your buddy-buddy uncle must have led us to the wrong location, Freckle-Face.” Hugo snickered, receiving a glare from Varian. 

The young boy walked up to the mountainous wall, pushing on the rocks. After a second, a section of the wall turned, showing a vastly large door. “It’s what I do best!” The jinx boy laughed.

The walls weren’t as tall as the Fire Kingdom’s trial, but nonetheless, they were high up. The bricks were made of dirt and clay, giving a more dusty look than the other trials. 

As the four entered, they noticed a slate on the wall with an inscription. “There are two endings in life. Will you be consumed by the connection of lineage or the fates of bonds? The chains of choice design your fate before you bat your eyes.” Nuru read aloud to the group.

“What could that mean?” Varian tapped his glove to his chin in thought.

“Not sure,” Nuru sighed, “But I’m sure you can figure it out on your own, Varian. Afterall, we’re just bickering messes that you don’t want to speak.” The princess’ statement got everybody to look away from the alchemist. 

Yong huffed, “If your real family were here then they could help you figure it out. You like them more than us, anyways.”  
“Yeah,” Hugo groaned, “Get Sam or Elric to help you out. We’re just in the way.”

Varian wasn’t sure why they had been acting this way. Had he said something wrong? The man didn’t understand it, until he had thought for less than a second. Just the other day he was yelling at the group to be quiet, and keep hushed. Oh how wrong he had been…

“Oh…” Varian exhaled, “Guys I’m so sorry, I just-” Before the freckled man could speak, cuffs escaped from the ground and walls, grabbing onto his ankles and wrists and slamming the man into the wall. The group looked towards the alchemist.

“Varian!” Yong cried out, “Hold on, I can help you!” There wasn’t a moment between the sentence and the boy getting the same treatment the older man had gotten. 

Nuru and Hugo gasped at the scene unfolding between them. “Which one of us is next, trial? And please, tell me it’s Nuru.” Hugo chuckled.

The star shined girl turned to the blonde, “Excuse you? I hope these chains hold you and never let go, letting Yong, Varian and I free!”

“After what you did to me yesterday, you deserve exactly that!” The man with glasses pointed at the other.

“I hope the trial breaks down on you, keeping you left alone here to rot!”

The next two sentences were shouted towards their target in unison.

“I hope your village falls below your feet due to the meteor!”

“I hope you do something awful to the people you’re close to, pushing them away for good!”

In seconds, chains clasped on the two, putting them into the same fate as Varian and Yong had been in. The group sat in silence for a few minutes, before Varian spoke up. “I’m sorry…”

Nuru, Yong and Hugo looked up to the freckled man, pure confusion overtaking their faces. Varian took this as a sign to continue, “I really shouldn’t have yelled yesterday. I should have explained my anger in a more reasonable way. It’s just...You all kept arguing, day and night. And yes, I know we don’t always get along, but there’s a fine line between being able to work together and almost killing each other! It’s also a huge toll on me when I have to try to stop it every single time.” The three looked at each other with nothing but shame. Yong was about ready to cry. 

“I’m not mad at you guys,” the freckled boy expressed, “I’m mad at myself for not being more rational...And the worst part is, you all are just as important to me as my friends and family in Corona, as my family here, and as my mother.” He looked up to the group, “You’re all like a family to me. A family that gets into arguments often, teases each other and blows things up due to our mishaps.”

“Though..I guess we can’t experience that much more since…” Nuru shook the cufflinks she was stuck in. The group was quiet as sadness washed over them. 

“No, Goggles, you don’t need to be sorry.” Hugo started, “Sure, the yelling this is completely on you, but I get it. We pulled you to your wits end. We all need to apologize to each other because we were driving you up a wall every single day, and you haven’t given up on us, at least not yet.” The alchemist looked at the thief, chest and face growing warmer.

“That’s not something I expected to hear from you, Hugo.” The princess laughed, “But it’s nice to hear you be genuine. Good quality about you, y’know?”

“Yeah, and your determination and willpower is something I think is quite admirable too, Queenie.” The blonde smirked. 

“Even if I forget everything that’s happened in my life,” Varian laughed, “This will never be forgotten! I’ve never seen you two get along!”

“Ooh, ooh! My turn!” Yong cheered, “Varian, though some days you may have a low boiling point, you still stand by our sides every single day, and I find that to be really nice!” 

Varian smiled in the boy’s direction, “Thank you Yong...I find your joy you bring to the group to be something I look up to each and every day.”

“Well we got a lot more time to share these things about each other,” Hugo groaned, “We’re still stuck in these traps.” 

Varian repeated the riddle out loud, “There are two endings in life. Will you be consumed by the connection of lineage or the fates of bonds? The chains of choice design your fate before you bat your eyes.” The alchemist thought about their sights, smells and voices they had heard together, trying to find something that matched. 

After moments, Varian heard the voice of his uncle, Elric, play in his head, “My whole family is a bunch of inventors and scientists. Of course, some do other activities every once in a while, we always come together with the things that make us all happy; something that ties us together.”

“Something that ties us together…Connection of lineage or the fates of bonds...” Varian whispered, “Guys! That’s it! What’s something that ties us all together? Something that makes us treat each other like family?”

“Hairstripe,” The blonde sighed, “Family is blood related, you know this, right?”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Hugh!” Varian smiled, “My family back in Corona isn’t blood related at all, but nonetheless we’re connected because of how much we care about each other, and everything we’ve been through together. The riddle talks about how you define family, whether it’s blood related or because of your deep connection with others...Family is people who support you and are always there for you, especially when you need it the most.”

“Something that ties us together…” Nuru hums, “Well, we all want to grow on our journey together. Sure, our end goals are different, we all want to find a place to truly call home, and people to call family.” 

The chains connected to the four’s ankles released, fading back into the clay bricks. They were hung by their wrists, quickly thinking.

Yong kicked his feet, signifying he had a thought as well, “We also have a fascination towards science! We all may enjoy different parts of it, but we all connect with that! You guys are the first people to fully understand me with the concept!”

Once Yong finished speaking, the chains released them in full, dropping the group to the floor. Nuru immediately ran over to Yong, scooping him up into the air. “You did it Yong! You finished the puzzle!” 

Yong giggled from the positive energy, “I couldn’t have done it without Varian! He realized what the riddle meant!” Nuru softly let Yong back to the floor.

“I couldn’t have done it without Hugo’s question, egging me on to explain. It was small, but it did a lot.” The men smiled, freckled cheeks warming up.

“I couldn’t have done it without Nuru’s friendship towards me finally coming through.” The man teased, earning a small and playful push from the girl.

“I guess,” Nuru laughed, “I guess we do need each other in the end.” In the spur of the moment, Nuru wrapped her arms around Yong, who wrapped his around Varian. The alchemist reached over to the man in green, pulling him into the large hug, which he slowly grew into. 

The four stood there for a while, taking in the moment. The totem could wait a few minutes, it wasn’t going anywhere. In this time, Varian realized that yes, he did love his biological family’s smarts, love and tenderness; but he also loved Yong’s positivity, Nuru’s intellectuality, Hugo’s wit. 

And in Varian’s opinion, he wouldn’t trade that for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this all in one sitting *thumbs up* also I don't know if Varian's family has names decided by the fandom so I hope you don't mind the ones I made in like...2 minutes...
> 
> Also not to promo myself but I'm working on a huuuuge fic and .. it would be really cool if you check it out when the first chapter is released! (Basically it summarize: Season 2 but Varian is involved) 
> 
> Hope my bf doesn't mind me self promoting if he does uhm.. xoxo *RUNS AWAY REALLY FAST*


	7. The Rebirth of the Dark Kingdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD HI I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE
> 
> im uploading today instead of friday tomorrow bc ill be busy! Tomorrow is my birthday!! ^___^
> 
> anyway,, enjoy! didn't proofread so be warned aha

Nuru, usually, was excited to share her knowledge on the kingdoms. She could go on for hours as they travelled to their next destination and it was much to Varian’s pleasure. Varian quite enjoyed the trivia that the princess would talk about. As much as he hated to admit it, he also loved Hugo’s brief interjections. And of course, Yong’s shouts of excitement always made the man happy. He was glad everyone seemed to have at least some interest in their journey; It kept the travelling lively.

This time was different. Nuru was unusually silent and it put a feeling of disease in Varian’s throat. All Varian had to listen to was the ‘clip-clop’ of Prometheus’ hooves against the ground. He cleared his throat before speaking. “So, Nuru, anything interesting to report about the Dark Kingdom?”

Nuru shook her head but spoke anyways, “Interesting, sure, but not exciting… the Dark Kingdom is notorious for rotting crops and… well… death.”

The group went back down into pure silence. “Ha… can’t be that bad, right?” Varian tried to lighten the mood but it fell flat. A dreary feeling of dread fell over the group as they approached the kingdom in the distance. 

Still, Varian grinned as he saw the looming tower in the distance. Sure, it was somewhat intimidating and still very dark but it had looked better than what Rapunzel had described it as when she was on her journey to find the moonstone. Yet, he couldn’t shake that unease. “Come on guys! I can see it in the distance! Let’s go!” He shouted and the gang began to pick up their pace.

______

The group of friends were almost to the tower when they came across a large ravine and a gondola to get across. Varian sighed as he recalled Rapunzel’s tale of getting the moonstone. She had mentioned this and he was hoping that Edmund had built a bridge by now but that was not the case. He felt slightly anxious as he had remembered how Rapunzel had mentioned how the wire had snapped while they were attacked on the gondola. Had Edmund really chosen to fix it instead of the much safer option which was a bridge?

He hopped off Prometheus and pointed to the gondola with his staff. “Okay… We’re going to have to take that across to get to the Dark Kingdom.”

Hugo let out a squawk of surprise before interjecting. “Listen, Goggles, no offense, but I am not getting on that thing. Remember the whole thing Nuru said about this being a place of death? Well, I’m not about to punch my own ticket. Thanks for the offer though!” 

Varian rolled his eyes at the blond man’s thematics. “Yeah, well, it’s the only way across. Sorry, Glasses.”

Hugo was going to speak up again when he was interrupted by Nuru. “Okay! We are not arguing about this! Hugo, let’s just go. It’ll be fine.”

Yong piped up, “Yeah! It’ll be cool!” Everyone except Hugo seemed to be on board.

Varian tapped his foot and looked at the blonde man. “Well?”

“...Ugh, fine!” The taller male agreed but not without angrily stomping his foot on the ground.

“What a baby…” Varian thought to himself as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes once more. He led the group up to the gondola, leaving Prometheus behind as they all got on. The floor of the gondola creaked as the gang clambered on and Ruddiger let out a chatter of protest. Varian gave a soothing pet to the raccoon. “It’s fine, buddy. We’ll be okay!”

He noticed the lever near the end of the gondola, and walked over to it. He wiggled a finger, signaling for Hugo to follow him. “Hugo and I will get us all across.” He said in a calm tone, trying to reassure the others. He could feel the anxious air in the room.

The ride across the ravine was silent. Nobody spoke. Varian could tell everyone was stiff with fear as everytime they cranked the seesaw lever a large ‘CREAK’ came out. The gondola would shake from time to time, causing the gang to hold their breath for a moment before releasing it in relief once the minor quaking stopped.

Eventually the gondola had made it across the ravine safely and the friends stepped off carefully. Varian was the last one off and he nearly lost his footing and would have fallen off the edge into the deep chasm with a shout of alarm if it weren’t for Hugo grabbing him by the wrist at the last minute and pulling him back to safety. Varian sat for a moment, catching his breath. 

“You’re welcome, my good sir.” Hugo said in a sassy tone to which Varian responded by bopping the blonde lightly on the head with his staff, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

The group continued walking forward, taking in the sight of the area. From a distance it had looked… brighter. To be frank, Varian was disappointed. The ground was littered with old and dead crops, the tower before them clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a long while, and there were no people to speak of. Varian had expected a somewhat lively kingdom with happy couples and children playing. Instead what he got was a barren wasteland. “Okay…” He said aloud and cringed as he stepped on what he assumed to be some kind of decaying animal corpse.

“Wow, Goggles, this was a real nice trip! But unfortunately, I have more important things to do than-” He pretended to check his arm for a written reminder. “-walking around a literal graveyard!”

Varian shot a glare at the older man. “Really? Cause, from what it looks like all you have to do is… steal from dozens of people. And that’s it. Besides, how are you going to get back across without another person? Hm?” Hugo huffed angrily but looked away in defeat. Varian smiled at his small victory as he led the group down the path until they reached the door of the tower. He looked up in awe. The tower was huge. He really hadn’t noticed until he had gotten close to the ginormous building.

He hesitated for a moment before gently bumping his fist on the door in a polite knock. They waited for a moment, holding their breaths in anticipation until the door opened revealing a rather tired looking man. The young adult and old man stared at each other for a long silent moment. Awkwardly, Varian cleared his throat. “Are you… Edmund?”

“King Edmund, yes. That is me.” His voice bellowed back.

Varian nodded respectfully. “Yes, uh… were going to ask about a trial here but…” Once again, Varian cleared his throat in an awkward manner. “We have a few questions. Rapunzel said you were rebuilding this place but it still looks pretty… run down?” The boy with goggles quickly added, “No offense, or anything! We were just wondering if you could use any help?”

Edmund suddenly grinned, his tired posture disappearing immediately as he beamed. “You’re friends of Rapunzel’s? Why, come in!” He spoke in a chipper manner. “Are you Varian?” He asked.

Varian nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!”

Edmund chuckled as he led the others inside. “I’ve heard much about you from Rapunzel and Eugene. And who might your friends be?”

Nuru held out her hand for the king to shake. “I’m Nuru. Pleased to meet you, sir!”

Yong shot up, excited. “I’m Yong!”

Hugo pointed a thumb to his own chest. “Hugo.” He said simply.

Varian grinned then spoke, “So, about earlier… Is there any way we can help?”

Edmund nodded. “I took the duty of rebuilding the Dark Kingdom upon myself after my son and his friends left, but… as you can see things have been hard. Rebuilding a kingdom as a one man job can be very tiring. Any help would be massively appreciated.”

“Great! Just tell us what we can do!” Varian said.

“You and Hugo can help by replanting new crops in the fields.” Edmund turned to face Nuru and Yong. “Nuru and Yong can come with me and plan a new map of the kingdom. We can come up with ideas on how to rebuild the kingdom and go from there.”

Varian nodded, accepting the seed Edmund handed him, grabbing Hugo by the wrist and walking out to the field of crops they had walked past before they had entered the tower.

“Kay, Goggles, You got something?”

“What do you mean?” The man raised a brow to the blond.

Hugo shrugged. “I mean- Do you have some sort of alchemical solution to make the crops alive again?”

Varian shook his head. “No. Even if I did, Edmund asked us to plant new things.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be faster to make them live again?”

“I guess… but not everything needs to be alive again. Sometimes it’s just better to start anew.”

Hugo sat in silence for a minute, thinking about what Varian had said. “Yeah but… Isn’t it easier to just go with the way things have always been instead of doing something new that could be harder.”

Varian looked away. It was obvious they weren’t talking about crops anymore. “How do you know it’ll be harder?”

“I-I don’t- We don’t, I mean. It’s just… what if it is?”

“Then it is.” The raven-haired man shrugged. “You know, sometimes it’s hard to change and go to something new… but ultimately it’d be harder to commit to being your old self instead of growing and becoming a new person.” He crouched down and began digging out the dead plants, piling them up.

Hugo looked to the ground in silence. “Yeah… I guess. But isn’t it important to not get rid of your old self…? You can’t be a new person if you don’t have a part of who you were before…”

Varian nodded in agreement. “That’s true.” He pointed to the soil. “There’s always going to be a part of your past with you. You can’t just ignore it or shove it away.” He dug up the soil until there was a small hole, planting some seeds and then patting some dirt on top of them. “But you can make something new with that. It doesn’t have to be anything big; Growing takes time… but it’s worth it if you can become something new. Whether that new is good or bad is up to you. Only you can determine what happens.” He gently watered the seeds. “And eventually, after time, it’ll be something new.”  
Hugo just stared at Varian for a long moment before sighing. “And if that new you isn’t good…?”

Varian grinned gently. “Then try again.” He started the same process over in the plot next to him. “Growth isn’t a one time thing. It takes multiple phases to become the person you want to be but once you’re there, you’ll know.”

Hugo didn’t say anything as he crouched down next to Varian and began helping him with replacing the old plants with new seeds.

______

The other group stood inside the Dark tower, getting ready to plan out a new map of the Dark Kingdom. Edmund laid out the current map of the Dark Kingdom before Nuru, Yong, and him. The map was torn at the corners and other various spots. Old age had made the map become worn down and ugly.

Both Yong and Nuru looked at each other with a look of slight disgust before returning their eyes to the map. The map had shown a singular tower, a few spots for crops, the gondola, and a well. Most of the map was open area that hadn’t been used.

“Um… Okay…” Nuru said awkwardly and pointed to some of the open area. “Maybe we could try building some homes or even an Inn over here? People would be more inclined to visit your kingdom if they had somewhere to stay.”

Edmund shook his head defensively. “I use that area for Hamuel to fly around and train.” He pointed to the cross-eyed bird goofing about in the corner.

Nuru held back an embarrassed cringe and pointed to another open area on the map. “Okay, how about here?” 

Edmund, again, shook his head. “I use that to practice my combat.”

Nuru sighed. “Edmund, look, I really respect you and your practices but some things are going to have to change if you want to rebuild this kingdom.” She turned her body to face him in a polite manner. “I’m glad you found things that make you happy but sometimes things have to change for the better…”

Yong nodded. “Yeah! Like how when my inventions blow up I have to use something else even though what I was originally using looked cooler!”

Edmund sighed in response, the large man turning around and thinking for a moment. “Perhaps you’re right… but I’d still like to have an area for those things…”

“How about you use only one area for training Hamuel and for your combat?” Yong suggested. “You can practice your combat in the early morning and then later Hamuel can practice his flying!” The boy smiled, quite proud of his own suggestions.

Nuru patted the boy's head and nodded. “We could even build another building just for your combat in that area. That way you could have things like training dummies. We’d make the building big too so you’d have enough area to practice without hurting anyone or yourself.”

Edmund nodded with a smile on his face. “I do like that idea quite a bit…” He turned back to the map. “I suppose we could move it to the upper area over here.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Nuru smiled and then went on to suggest even more new additions like a cafe, a bar, and many things to fill the large open areas.

After a lot of discussion they had all planned out the kingdom’s new layout and all there was left was to build.

Hugo and Varian had just finished replanting the crops at this point and they walked into the tower, joining Edmund and the others as they explained to them what they had planned. Both Hugo and Varian nodded as they agreed to help with the building.

Edmund gave instructions to Hugo and Varian to begin building the inn and explained he, Nuru, and Yong would begin to build the homes. They all nodded and headed off on their ways.

Varian wasn't exactly enthused to be working with Hugo once again but he wasn't irritated either. For once he felt just okay working with Hugo and that was a huge step from the beginning of their journey.

He and Hugo spent a long while and eventually had made good progress on their building and decided to take a break. “Hey, let’s go explore a bit. Seeing some more scenery could be good for us to relax for a bit.” Varian suggested.

Hugo nodded and the two told Edmund of their plans before they left to explore the vast open land of the Dark Kingdom.They walked around for hours, seeing all kinds of plants and other wildlife. Eventually they came across an area where the grass dissipated into stone and a large cave lay ahead.

Hugo pointed to the cave in giddy excitement. “Let’s go in there!”

Varian nervously scratched at his head. “I don’t know, Hugo… for all we know there could be dangerous creatures inhabiting that cave. It's better to be safe than s--"

"Sorry did you say something?" Hugo shouted back to the other man from inside the cave, peeking his head out.

Varian, not amused, rolled his eyes but followed Hugo in anyways.

The two spent a while admiring the cave. It was long and deep with bits of moss and red mushrooms covering the rocky walls. Occasionally Hugo would crack a joke here or there and Varian had to admit he was having a great time studying the types of plants littered on the ground and walls.

Eventually, Varian turned and said, “We should get going now. We need to go back to building.”

Hugo nodded in agreement and started following Varian out when a faint rumble rocked the ground beneath their feet. Confused, Hugo looked around until he heard the sound of rocks clanking against each other and looked up. “VARIAN, WATCH OUT!” Hugo jumped forward, landing on Varian as they slid forward a few inches, narrowly missing the rocks that fell behind them.

Gasping for air in shock of the situation, Varian looked at Hugo. “Thanks Hugo… I-” He was cut off as, once again, rocks began to fall from the ceiling of the roof, this time landing in front of them, effectively cutting off any access they had to the entrance of the cave. “No, no, no, no!” Varian shouted in panic, shoving Hugo off him and running to the wall of rock. “Ugh! No…! We’re stuck!”

Hugo groaned. Yes, he was actually having fun with Varian, but he could only stand him to an extent. He wasn’t exactly jumping with joy to be trapped with the alchemist.

"Great! I love it here!" Hugo sarcastically quipped.

Varian gave him an annoyed stare before turning back to the wall of rocks, looking for any means of escape but the search proved to be fruitless. Sighing, he put his back to the wall, and skin down into a sitting position, pulling his legs up to his chest.

Hugo tilted his head. Varian wasn't one to give up easily and yet he seemed so defeated already. 

With hesitancy, Hugo placed a hand on Hugo's shoulder and sat down beside him. Varian turned to look at him slightly to which he responded with a "Sup?"

The man with goggles rolled his eyes before sighing. "I don't like dark areas."

"Why's that?"

Varian shrugged but explained. "I… I'm not a great person Hugo. I haven't been completely honest with you."

Hugo tilted his head once more in confusion. Varian had been nothing but caring and patient. What did he mean? "How so?"

"This…? It reminds me of when I was in prison. I got taken to prison, Hugo."

Staring in shock and disbelief, Hugo let out a nervous laugh. Varian looked back at him with a serious glare. "You're serious?"

Varian nodded before continuing. "There were these… rocks. Black sharp rocks. They were destroying my town and I wanted to fix them! I really did! But I made it worse. I got my dad encased in amber and when I asked Rapunzel for help… she said no."

Hugo took the opportunity of the brief pause to interject. "Classic royalty"

"No! Rapunzel's not like that!"

"But you just said--"

"It's complicated, okay?!" Varian took a moment to breathe but continued his story. "I was so mad that I attacked her. I kidnapped her mom so I get her to come to my house and use her powers to melt the amber… but it didn't work. In the end she beat me. I got sent to jail."

Hugo blinked. "But, hair-stripe, that's not--"

"Don't you dare say it wasn't my fault!" There was a silence in the room for a brief moment. "What I did was wrong! Even if what Rapunzel did was bad, I was worse. I attacked her. I attacked someone I cared about. I just wanted to make my dad proud but when he found out what had happened he was so… disappointed. He was disappointed that I hurt people. And I never want to feel that ever again."

Hugo sighed at the story. It was quite a sad one. He wasn't sure what to say. "Goggles…" he looked at Varian, and asked him a question in the most serious tone he could muster. "Do you think you've changed?"

Varian looked at the thief. "Huh?"

"Changed? Do you think you've… become a better person?"

Varian shrugged. "I don't…" he didn't finish his sentence. 

"Well… I think you have." Varian looked up at Hugo. "You've been nothing but kind and patient this entire journey. You've helped Yong with his inventions, helped Nuru better her confidence, heck, you even helped me, even if I dont show it." He smiled at Varian. "I know you've changed. You're better. And like you said earlier, you can't let go of your past… but you can let it be born into something new. You said you wanted to make your dad proud? Well, I'm sure he'd be so proud of you now if he knew where you were and how you got here."

Varian just stared at Hugo before nodding. "Thanks, Hugo… I never thought I'd hear that from you of all people." 

Varian chuckled and gave Hugo a genuine smile. It was one of the most kind and trusting smiles Hugo had seen and he felt a sudden tug at his heart. He didn't deserve that trust. He remembered his deal with Donella and what he was going to have to do eventually. He remembered what Varian had said about changing and decided if Varian can do it, so can he and for a brief moment he considered telling Varian the truth. "Varian, I-"

"Varian!? hugo?!" Hugo was interrupted as he heard the shouts of Nuru and Yong outside.

Varian scrambled to his feet to answer their calls. "Here! We're in here!" He shouted loudly.

The duo heard the sound of feet running to their direction until They stopped in front of them. “Are you guys in there?!”

He couldn’t see past the wall of rocks but Varian knew it was Nuru. “Yeah! We’re here!”

He heard the group let out a sigh of relief before Edmund spoke up. “We’ll help you out! Can you push any of the boulders? I’ll pull from this side and see if we can help.” 

Varian looked. “We should try and get one from the top so it doesn’t collapse and uh…”

“Crush us?” Hugo supplied.

“Yeah.”

It took quite a few efforts and lots of communication but in due time the duo was free from the cave and the group made their way back to the original spot of where they were building.

Many days passed as the group continued to build and slowly but surely, over the course of two weeks the group had built at least three small homes and the inn was almost finished.

The sun was setting and the gang decided to head back into the tower to sleep for the night. Hugo and Varian were the last to begin heading to bed but Edmund stopped them. “You’ve all been a big help. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Oh, it’s nothing” Varian smiled, waving his hand dismissively as if their efforts weren’t a big deal.

“I think I can handle it from here. The rest of you need to complete your journey. I believe this belongs to you.” In Edmunds hand sat the totem for the trial of the Dark Kingdom. Gently he handed it to Varian.

With a large grin, Varian happily accepted it. “Thanks. And uh, thank you, again, you may not realize but this trial may have helped me more than anything so far.”

Edmund chuckled. “Of course. You two better head off to bed now. You have a long day of travelling ahead of you in the morning.”

Varian and Hugo nodded and the two went to their respective beds in the tower. Tomorrow they headed towards the Industrial kingdom.


	8. Hiatus (please read !!♡)

Hi lovely readers!!

I'm sure you've noticed it's been a while since the last chapter (about... what? Almost two months now?) I am sad to announce I am temporarily shelving this work and putting it on hiatus, the reason being I am simply not interested in continuing this at the current moment as I have much more on plate. I have currently eight (yes, 8!) Works in the making at the moment, about three or four of these even planned to be multi chapter stories.

This DOES NOT mean I will not be finishing this fic. As choppy as it is at times, it is my first ever multi chapter work I've made and I'll be dammed if I don't finish it, haha. Thing is, I just have better things to be working on right now. (They do fall in line with vat7k and varigo though, so if you came here for that content then boy do I have GREAT news about six out of eight of those WIP fics)

At the current time, chapter eight of this fic hasn't even begun production either so it's not likely to come off hiatus anytime soon either.

TLDR; I am putting this book on hiatus to focus on other works but I will come back to this fic.

Thank you for your incredible support and patience with me, you guys have all been so nice, even if it was just leaving a kudos, it really means the world to me...!!


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